Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Arancini

I risk the ire of Sicilians by calling the following Arancini but it's a word people can relate to and understand immediately that you are talking about a fried rice ball.

Rather than making balls I've made cylinders since I'm not going to be adding something to their centre. I've used left-over risotto for the base and if you need an excuse as to why you should always make more risotto than you intend to eat, then this is it.

If you've made your risotto correctly, once cold it will have set into a thick, sticky mass. There's no need to add anything to the risotto, all you need to do is portion and shape it. I've used a large ice cream scoop to even out the portion sizes and then, using damp hands, shaped the risotto to form firm cylinders. If you like to be traditional, then form them into balls.

The crumbing:

Set out two bowls - one with a lightly beaten egg and then other with fine breadcrumbs.

If you are going to be baking these rather than deep frying, then add finely grated parmesan to the breadcrumbs. This will help form a better crust when baked.

Dip the cylinders into the egg, drain off the excess and then roll it around the breadcrumbs. Once all the cylinders have been done, repeat the process. Double crumbing creates a more resilient crust.

You can now store these in the fridge until you're ready to cook them.

Cooking the Arancini:

If you want to bake these:

Place a little oil and a knob of butter in a skillet over a medium heat, when the butter has melted and is starting to sizzle add in the arancini. Roll them gently to brown all sides and then place them on a baking tray - bake at 140°C until warmed through and crisp.

For deep-frying:

I use the same method for all deep frying - small saucepan filled with just enough oil to cover the object I'm deep frying. You'll need to have the oil a little cooler than normal as the heat needs to travel to the center of these cylinders. The oil needs to be hot enough to sizzle when the object is placed into it but not immediately brown.

Cook a few at a time and place on paper towels to remove any excess oil.